Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Two weeks until Slayer!
Was it ever pleasing to see France's old geezers play their hearts out agains Spain and have their best World Cup result in eight years. It was sweet to see Zidane score one more big goal...hopefully that can do it one more time against Brazil on the weekend.
More new reviews, as things start to get going again after a somewhat slow past couple weeks. My piece on the recent Run Chico Run album went up. Typical of this band, it took a while for me to get into it (they really have a knack for that), but it actually doesn't take long to figure out that this is the kind of indie rock that is actually sincere, its eccentricities complementing the music, not just placed there to stand out and grab our attention. A solid follow-up to the very enjoyable Shashbo.
Also appearing yesterday was my big review of Rush's four-disc 80s DVD retrospective. I had seen the concert films Exit...Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure Live, and A Show of Hands during the 80s...Grace Under Pressure was in fact my introduction to the band, which certainly had me intrigued, and I rented the VHS tape of A Show of Hands right when I was becoming a huge Rush fan late in the decade, but it had been nearly 20 years since I saw the three concerts. So I was a very happy Rush geek when it was announced that the replay x 3 set was coming out. My review goes into great detail, but I will say Alex Lifeson did a terrific job remastering everything. The CD soundtrack of the 1984 video is a cool bonus (note to self: rip that for the iRiver!), but the best touch is in the reproductions of the three tour programs from 1981, 1984, and 1987. Whosever idea that was has to be commended...only Iron Maiden does as perfect a job of giving the fans a great DVD package. Believe me, that's high praise. Oh, and kudos to my editor for including YouTube clips in the review!
I've had the new Carina Round album since April, but its release date keeps getting pushed farther and farther back, and every time that happened, I kept putting off reviewing it. I'm so sick of seeing it on my to-do pile, that I had to review the thing just to get it out of the way. It's a decent CD, but really overproduced (hello, Glen Ballard, I'm talking to you), and its opening half seems too preoccupied with cashing in on the post punk trend. Some great tunes, but for every good song, there's one that elicits the ubiquitous "meh".
I got the new Fiel Garvie CD in the mail, which was a neat surprise. I haven't had time to listen to it yet, but their last album was an enjoyable slice of classy dreampop, and I expect the new one to be just as good. More on this later.
I also got the new one by Portuguese metal dudes Moonspell. I like this one a lot.
Be sure to listen to the new Lamb of God single "Redneck" here...they shamelessly lay the Pantera shtick nice and thick, but man oh man, do they ever nail it. It's going to go over huge, especially with the young crowd, and if the rest of the upcoming album measures up, it could be the major album I've been expecting from these guys for four years now.
We're getting awfully close to the end of June, which means it'll soon be time for my sixth annual Best of the Year So Far bit, which is always my first post in July. So watch for it...there's a ton of stuff to mention.
Friday, June 23, 2006
So yeah, the Oilers fell short four days ago. Devastating, but it sure was fun while it lasted. Three months until training camps get going again! Here's hoping the Habs get bigger up front and dump Mike Ribeiro, and that Edmonton can sign their key free agents.
New review! At long last! There was a bit of a dry spell there, but things have picked up lately, starting with my very positive piece on the new CD by personal faves The Forecast. And yes, the album is that good. A real pleasure, emo enough to please the children, but enough rawk to win over the grown-ups. Why aren't there more female emocore singers? I can't stand the simpering boys, but when a girl sings it, it works for me. You hear that, Silverstein? Go find a girl singer! I've always been like that...most of the pop-oriented music I like is the stuff sung by the ladies.
It's weird when you interview a band who blew you away with a progressive metal/hardcore opus, and they turn out to be not quite as smart as you thought they were. I still like the band and their album, but it's the kind of niggly little detail that makes me think, "Okay, because of that, you won't make my Polaris ballot, and I'll put in Sunset Rubdown instead." I'm mean that way.
One of the best things I've seen in a while: noxt month's issue of Decibel has the guys from Slayer recreating their famous band photo from 20 years earlier. Brilliant! (and my big Misery Index piece is mentioned on the cover, too)
I'm going to have to miss Neko case's forst concert in my city in four years, because I'm going to be in Edmonton. A bit disappointing, but when given the choice between Neko and Slayer, Slayer wins.
I've been so busy/tired/burned out recently that I didn't even getting around to mentioning the new Rush DVD, which I received last week! Well, I'll go into detail about it when my review goes up, which will be soon.
I've been on a bit of an Enslaved kick lately, enjoying the heck out of Ruun, and having found a used copy of Isa yesterday. I should have put Isa on my year-end metal list last year. I admit, I messed up. I really should dig out Below the Lights...
It's Erin's birthday today, so if you're driving up Highway 2 into Edmonton from Calgary, honk when you get to the Nisku exit. If enough of you do it, she might be able to hear it, and I won't have to send her a card.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
I officially retract my hockey-related comments from a few days ago.
Game Seven. Un-be-lievable. I can't remember the last time I've seen a seven game series go through as dramatic a turn-around as the one that's happened here. Edmonton has completely owned Carolina for two consecutive games now, and game six was the most impeccable performance I've seen by the Oilers all season long. They're going to have to be even better on Monday. Don't change a thing, guys!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Time for another Decibel-related update, as a bunch of stuff by yours truly has been posted on the site. I did a little feature piece on the band Saviours, who used to be in a Bay Area screamo band before decideing to go all doomy on us. Good decision, I say, because I like their music quite a bit. There's also my review of the outstanding new Therion DVD, a massive, six-disc extravaganza that includes a full 2005 concert, a 2001 set, tons and tons of other live footage, documentary pieces, videos...it's just incredible. Too much material for a 250 word review, that's for sure! I'm really into Therion (here's proof), so this set was a real treat to write about. I also reviewed the new Scar Symmetry album, which builds on their excellent 2005 debut, and is one of the better metal albums of the year so far. Plus there's my Cataract review, some solid metalcore out of Germany.
World Cup's been great fun thusfar. Tough to say who I'm most impressed with after the first round of matches...I think I'll wait until the next round before I post my thoughts.
As for the Oilers, after a good Saturday night, Monday was not so good, as the team looked like they were running on fumes. It's all but over, the series should end tonight.
On a more positive note, a big YouTube find: the video for Warrior's "Fighting For the Earth", from 1985. The band (called USA Warrior in Canada for legal reasons) was short-lived, but their debut album is a hugely underrated disc, some good, slickly produced metal of the power variety, drawing heavily from Dio. I still remember the circumstances surrounding my purchase of the cassette...it was in June (yikes! 21 years ago this month!), and I found a huge stash of beer bottles in the field behind our house, from a big grad party the night before. With some parental help, I took them to the liquor store, and got a whopping nine bucks (a lot, considering the cheap deposit back then), and I immediately ran to the record store and got the Warrior album. I think I sold the tape at a garage sale in the early 90s, I'm afraid. Big mistake. Anyway, the video is as goofily pretentious as I remember it, but the song still sounds killer. Really, it does. It pleases this oldster greatly. And it was directed by the same guy who did Iron Maiden's Live After Death concert film.
Oh, and I've submitted my Polaris Music Prize ballot. Y'all will see it soon enough, but like I said, see my 2005 list for a good idea of how it looks.
Friday, June 9, 2006
Ugh, so the Oilers' bubble burst in most spectacular fashion. Seriously, that game one loss was in all likelihood the most catastrophic Stanley Cup final loss I have ever seen...never before have I seen a loss so multilayered in its devastation. To from dominating the opposition completely, to blowing a three goal lead, to losing your star goaltender, to handing the game winning goal ON A FREAKIN' PLATTER WITH 30 SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME...seriously, I don;t know how any team can rebound from something like that. It was no surprise that game two was the blowout it was. The Edmonton crowd is going to be a big help this weekend (I can see the Oilers perhaps stealing a home win), but I'm afraid the damage has already been done. Such a sad conclusion to one of the most remarkable playoff runs in the last fifteen years.
On the brighter side, the World Cup starts today! Being Canadian, there's none of the kind of anxiety I go through when, say, watching hockey, but it's huge fun watching the drama unfold as a semi-impartial observer. I do pull for teams, make no mistake...England, for obvious reasons. Other teams I'd like to see do well include France and The Netherlands. And there'll be the usual dominant team from Africa that will win folks over...looks like it'll be Ivory Coast this time around. Whoever wins (Brazil, of course), it's going to be a thrilling month.
The debut album by UK pop star-in-waiting Lily Allen is really impressing me these days. Smart, charismatic pop, with lyrics that range from witty to saucy to rather vulgar, but unlike Nellie McKay, whose art school condescention and pretension grates me to no end, there's a charm to her music, much like what made me such a fan of Natasha Bedingfield a couple years ago. You get little touches of hip hop, reggae, and bossa nova, and hooks that range from sunny sing-alongs to some more surreal moments (the chorus in "Not Big" sounds exactly like Liz Phair). Alright Still is extremely likeable, one of the better pop records I've heard recently. Doesn't quite topple Marit Larsen yet, though...that's my 2006 pop fave so far. Here are a couple Lily Allen videos for you:
"LDN"
"Smile"
More on Peeping Tom...I am loving the album to bits, especially after I found it on sale on Monday. The packaging is supercool. I'd describe it, but it's best to fumble with it trying to figure out how to get the darn CD out. When it finally happens, it's a big revelation, like a pop-up book. It's quite ingenious, actually, and were it not for the Tool album, it would win Best Packaging of the Year easily. Oh, and "Caipirinha" is my new fave track.
The video for Broken Social Scene's "Fire Eye'd Boy has to be seen to be believed. They up and went goofy on us all. And brought in Geddy Lee.
As usual, I'm up to my neck in new metal releases. I'm crazy about the new Aggaloch. I like the new Unearth album a whole heckuvalot. And the new Nachtmystium is extremely fascinating. A recent grower has been Enslaved's Ruun...the more I hear that one, the more it knocks me out. Watch the video for the killer track "Path to Vanir" here.
Oh, and the new Slayer song is very, very good. Bodes well for the rest of the album. Though I can't believe people are wasting their money on eBay getting those stupid Hot Topic CDs. For just one song (that's easy to download) and a few measly enhanced video clips? So not worth it, especially with a new album now imminent. Silly fanboys.
Monday, June 5, 2006
It's going to be strange watching the Oilers play hockey in June, but surreal as it may seem, let's hope they get the job done, starting tonight. A split on the road would be massive. Go Oilers!
And wow, only four days until the World Cup starts! With hockey, soccer at bizarre times of the day, and writing, I don't know how I'm going to get adequate sleep this month. I promise to try to update this page more regularly.
So where should I start? Oh, I know. Tomorrow, if you aren't aware of it already, is National Day of Slayer, so if you're going to listen to any music that day, make sure it's of the Slatanic variety, and pay homage to one of the greatest metal bands to walk this earth. Also out tomorrow is their new EP (featuring the new track "Cult"), which in a bizarre yet inspired piece of marketing, is only available at Hot Topic stores. Since there are no Hot Topic stores in Canada, we up here will just have to get it through, erm, shadowy means. I fully expect to have it within the next 24 hours. Also, the Unholy Alliance Tour starts in a few weeks, which I'm thrilled to be attending in just over a month.
New writin'! Lots of new writin'! Well, three pieces, anyway. There's the Motorhead feature I did for Static, which was a real pleasure (massive thanks to Brett for the hook-up), and which I sort of did the very rough draft of here on this page. Appearing on Friday was my review of Rammstein's new album. here's a band who I was absolutely crazy about in 1998 (Sehnsucht bled my ears on a daily basis that summer), but kind of lost me when the follow-up came out a few years later. Well, it turns out they've gone through a very cool evolution, becoming a lot more than the one-trick industral metal ponies that many had them pegged as. Rosenrot could be their best album to date, a strong collection of songs that are both ominous and very dryly humourous. It came out in Canada last December, but I might have to cheat a little on my 2006 list. The CD is that good. And appearing today is my piece on the recent Invaders compilation, the supposedly genre-defining collection of the more hip metal bands put out by Kemado records. It's far from definitive (metal's too diverse for a 76 minute CD of doom metal and psychedelic rock bands), but it is a really good compilation nonetheless, highlighted by the saviours track "Circle of Serbants Bodies" (which you can download here).
If you're a music fan, you probably are aware of the UK's prestigious Mercury Music Prize, which is always discussed, wagered upon, and celebrated by those who are into British music. Well, Canada has had enough of our own mainstream music awards, which in recent years have become a joke, and in an attempt to reflect and reward Canada's best music talent (as opposed to biggest-selling), the Polaris Music Prize has been launched. Voted on by a jury of Canadian music experts, the winner will receive a whopping $20,000 which, to any indie rock band, is a small fortune. And I'm honoured to say I've been asked to be a juror. It's going to be great fun putting together my ballot...it's going to include Canadian albums released between June 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006 (sadly I can't vote for the new Voivod album, which hits stores in July). If you want a pretty good guess as to what will be my top choice, I suggest you take a look at my Best of 2005 for a hint!
Still with the Can-rock subject, if you love the Canadian indie, and have Express VU, man are you in for a treat, as they'll be showing a Metric concert filmed in hi-definition in Montreal this past April (not long after I saw them). It'll give folks a good look at their much-improved light show, not to mention a typically ultra-tight performance by the band. I hear they're putting out a new DVD in December, and methinks this concert will be on it, so us lucky Canadians with satellite dishes can get a cool sneak peek. The tivo will be set, that's for sure.
I'm very, very impressed by the new Peeping Tom album, featuring indie rock's great renaissance man, Mike Patton. With the help of Dan the Automator, Kool Keith, Massive Attack, and many others (including Norah Jones in a shocker of a cameo), it's Patton's most accessible album since his Faith No More days, led by such songs as "Don't Even Trip", "Sucker", "We're Not Alone", and the stupendous single "Mojo", which is yet another very strong contender for my year-end list. An excellent, diverse disc, it's the kind of thing that will only grow on me more, just like the last Gorillaz album did last year.
The more I hear it (which has been often these past five months or so), the more I love The Ark's "Trust is Shareware", a flat-out brilliant Nick Lowe rip-off by a bunch of Swedish glam rockers. I hope it's released as a single this year, because I want to place it very high on my 2006 list.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
So. How 'bout those Oilers, huh? The Habs remain My Team, but I also watch every Oilers game on TV, and I haven't been this pumped about a team's playoff run since Montreal wong the Stanley Cup in 1993. It's so rewarding as a fan to follow a team so closely and see them do so well. Don't stop now, guys.
A year ago I got an innocuous little album by Peoria, Illinois band The Forecast, and I was won over by its simplicity, honesty, and complete lack of pretentiousness. As I said in my review, it wasn't without its winning moments, but the band still had some work to do in further developing their sound. Well, I got their new CD yesterday, and it pleases me to say that they have made a big time improvement. What a charmer this record is. The emo influence remains strong, but this band knows how to play to its strengths, centering their sound around the dual boy-girl lead vocals of Dustin Addis and Shannon Burns, and the vocal hooks they hinted at on the debut are fully developed here, ultra catchy, and often gorgeous. Like Thrice, The Forecast is intent on shedding the emo tag, but instead of going off in Radiohead/Pelican-like directions, they've decided to focus more on a roots rock sound, with little classic rock touches like Thin Lizzy popping up every once in a while, making the end result kind of like an emo Wilco. So you get awesome, uber-catchy rockers like "And We All Return to Our Roots", "One Hundred Percent", and "A Fist Fight For Our Fathers" with more understated, rustic fare like "Some Things Never Change", "You're My Needle", and "Welcome Home". I usually am very picky when it comes to emo/screamo/whatever (I can't stand Thursday, I kind of like Atreyu, I love Thrice), but this album is such a winner, is so good at what it does, that I'm compelled to say that I highly, highly recommend this disc. It's in stores today, so keep an eye out for it...it will surprise you. Pleasantly so. Oh, and watch the video for "And We All Return to Our Roots" (what a great song) here.
And I didn't quite expect to like it as much as I do, but I have to confess that the new album by The Wreckers has won me over. It turns out that Michelle Branch hated kowtowing to the demands of her label and producer (her online diatribe from last year is an inspired piece of vitriol), and recorded a country-tinged album with her friend Jessica Harp, and after Maverick sat on the record for a year, they've put it out, marketing it exclusively to country music stations. And yeah, it's very nice, much more relaxed and assured than Branch's spotty Hotel Paper. It's nowhere near as country as people might think, sort of like a cross between the Dixie Chicks and Sheryl Crow, and has a tendency to wander toward the emptyheaded pop balladry that Branch became famous for, but the two singers work so well together, and the overall vibe is so positive, it deserves a warm recommendation. Good stuff. Watch the video for "Leave the Pieces" here.
So remember when I was writing incessantly about Motorhead a few weeks back? Well, it's time to revisit the third of their new deluxe reissues. After the release of Orgasmatron, the band's lineup went through the third lineup change in four years. Simply put, Gill left, and Philthy came back. Taylor’s post-Motörhead project was a complete flop, and after asking Lemmy for his old job back he was allowed another chance, but despite the energy of the resulting album, the magic seemed to be missing, as Lemmy’s songwriting started to scrape the bottom of the well, Taylor’s drumming was at times painfully uninspired, and Guy Bidmead’s production comes off as too tinny, burying Campbell and Wurzel’s guitars even deeper into the mix than Laswell did a year earlier. Still, for what it’s worth, Rock 'N' Roll has its share of moments. The single “Eat the Rich” (taken from the 1987 movie of the same name, in which Lemmy made his acting debut) is a snappy boogie tune that features some of Lemmy’s silliest lines to date (”Sittin’ here in a hired tuxedo / You wanna see my bacon torpedo!”), while “Stone Deaf in the USA” and “Dogs” successfully hearken back to the band’s late-70s sound. “The Wolf” is preceded by a humorous monologue by Monty Python alum Michael Palin, but the real surprise is “All For You”, which not only sounds like a leftover from Another Perfect Day, but boasts a startlingly melodic, dare I say tender chorus that manages to sound sincere, not just tacked on.
Like the expanded edition of Iron Fist, though, Rock ‘N’ Roll is redeemed by its second disc. Motörhead’s best B-side since “Too Late Too Late”, “Just ‘Cos You’ve Got the Power” is a massive, seven minute blues barnburner that, unlike the album, allows the guitars to dominate, as Campbell lets loose some of his best solo fills with the band. The live set that follows is a solid performance at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the summer of 1986 by the Lemmy/Campbell/Wurzel/Gill lineup that, while lacking the ferocity and intimacy of the “Wooargh Weekender” performance two years earlier, is a well-recorded document of the band playing for tens of thousands of adoring punters.
After Rock ‘N’ Roll, it would be another four years before we would hear new music from Lemmy and his boys, but after the tepid reaction their 1987 album received, they would rebound in a huge way in 1991 with 1916, their first album for a major label. One of the most consistently reliable bands in rock history, it’s no surprise Motörhead has lasted more than three decades now, and in fact, a new album is due later this year. Until then, there’s no better time than now to either reminisce, or discover for the first time, Motörhead’s top-notch early catalog, as Sanctuary continue to outdo themselves, providing fans old and new definitive glimpses of the band’s first dozen years.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Sorry 'bout the lack of updates this past week, but things got a bit crazy (last week of the month...again). Four Decibel reviews had to be finished, and then I went through a hellish couple days trying to finish my first big feature for the mag. I won't get into it, other than to say that complete and utter disaster was narrowly averted. So with that ordeal finally over (well, hopefully), it's on to the other stuff I had to put on hold. Like my Motorhead piece, I'm way behind on that. But first a night to regroup, then back on the horse.
A new review of mine did appear this past week, that being my piece on the new Killing Joke album. It seems people are either liking this, or strongly disliking it. Myself, I like it a ton, it's a much superior album to their last one, and arguably their best since at least Pandemonium, perhaps earlier. The production is intentionally old school, all rough and semi-muddy, relly dense, and the songs take their own sweet time, definitely not one that will win over casual listeners. Jaz Coleman continues to sound more and more Lemmylike (although he does do a few good melodic vocal lines), and Geordie's guitar really stands out. The guy is a machine, those repeated chords just slicing through you. It could very well make my big list come December, I've been enjoying it that much.
Other than that, not much else to mention at the moment. Except that the new Voivod CD has grown on me, big time. Oh, and let's hope the Oilers can rebound Saturday night in Anaheim. They need to finish this series as soon as possible, just for the rest!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Some new writing to plug today. First off, my May metal column appeared yesterday. After much hemming and hawing last month, I decided to focus solely on Celtic Frost and their outstanding new album, which is easily one of the best albums of the year, metal or otherwise. The new disc sounds absolutely massive, boasting the kind of production the band's 80s albums always seemed to lack. I was quite happy with the piece, but what's more pleasing is that it also meets with the approval of one Tom Gabriel Fischer, who sent along a really kind note, for which I'm hugely appreciative. He clarified somethnig I wasn't aware of, that bassist Martin Eric Ain does lead vocals on "A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh, "Totengott", and "Synagogae Satanae". I also learned that along with Peter Tagtgren's amazing production, Fischer and Ain remixed the album two more times, just to get the right amount of heaviness needed. Let me tell you, it worked. Monotheist is staggering.
My review of the much-hyped Wolfmother album appeared the other day, too. I touched on the record back in February, and this piece just elaborates more. It's not cutting edge music by any stretch, but it's a very charismatic rawk record, and these days, charismatic rawk records are becoming few and far between. It's on sale everywhere these days...it's definitely worth the ten buck price. Perfect for the hot Victoria Day weekend.
Also up is my review of the new one by Yakuza. Jazzy hardcore metal stuff...some folks don't like the fact that a few tracks veer toward the pedestrian side, but although I agree somewhat, I still think it's a strong album, one of the year's better metal discs.
Metal, metal, metal, that's all I've been writing about this week, but for all the Zyklon, Apiary, and Neaera, it's nice to have something completely different to dip into just to clear the head, and did I ever find a perfect album for that in Under the Surface, by Norwegian pop songstress Marit Larsen. She used to be in a silly girl pop duo called M2M, but on her solo debut she goes in a totally different direction, more singer-songwriterly, with strong emphasis on acoustic guitar, but it's so much more than that. It's hard to describe, other than that it positively radiates with life, musically rich, ebullient, simple yet surprisingly diverse, a quick, happy, 32 minute album. I can see this album sticking around on my iRiver all year...it's year-end list material, I just know it.
Oh, and yay Oilers! Keep it up, guys.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Writing for a magazine can be weird, in that the whole mishmash of articles completed, published, or in progress, can get confusing. Or to me, anyway. Take this week fer instance...I'm working on five different pieces for Decibel, and at the very same time, the articles I wrote two months ago have just been published. It's going to get to the point where I'm not going to have a clue what I wrote about two months ago. It takes some getting used to, as opposed to the eenstant gratty-fication of the eenter-net.
Anyway, a total of four new Decibel pieces have popped up on the newly-updated website (I tell you, it's the best website for a print mag in existence). First, there's a neat little feature bit I did on Spitfire, who just put out a fine new album, and seem like cool guys. As far as record reviews go, there's my take on Place of Skulls (whose album I love to bits), the new one by Italian folk metal guys Elvenking (which tries mightily, but can't quite get it right), and the new CD by Danish power metal goofballs Iron Fire, which was so beyond stupid, I had to write a review that matched that album's stupidity. A bit of a larf, if you will.
Back to Elvenking for a second. I'm never against the use of folky instrumentation in metal, but their album sounds too forced, too sterile. There's guitar, there's violin, but it never meshes, and that just kept bugging me the more I listened to it. Which made the new Korpiklaani CD, which I just reviewed, all the more refreshing. here's a band who knows how to a) do the folk metal thing properly, b) convey a sense of passion, and c) create music that is enormously entertaining. In a nutshell, the combine metal and a Finnish version of polka called humppa, and as ludicrous as that may seem at first, they actually make it work. It's as if the Dropkick Murphys were hijacked by a bunch of viking metal dudes, ultra-heavy, but stuff you can sing along to...especially if you know Finnish. These guys seem to have a Pogues-like affection for the booze. I tell you, "Happy Little Boozer" is one of the metal songs of the year. Anyway, read the review, and go find the album. You'll be headbanging to polka metal about 30 seconds after pressing play. It's that good.
The Pipettes are three young ladies from Brighton, England bent on bringing back the Phil Spector girl groups sound, and while it's a bit of a tall order, their new album is pretty darn adorable. Shamelessly retro, but with an indie pop charm that's hard not to give in to. At 33 minutes, it still threatens to go on for too long (the opening "We Are the Pipettes" has no business being on there, it's that inferior), but I will make this declaration: "Pull Shapes" is an early contender for single of the year (if it ever gets released as a single), the best retro/modern pop song since Johnny Boy's "You are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve". For now, though, watch the video for current single "Your Kisses are Wasted on Me" here.
I've been listening to a lot of half-hour long albums lately. Another is the new one by Allison Moorer, aka Mrs. Steve Earle, called Getting Started. Earle produced it, and his fingerprints are all over this sucker, with raw, rough-edged production, recorded in ten days (I wouldn't be surprised if Earle and the Dukes are backing Moorer up). The blend of the punchy band performance and Moorer's silky smooth voice makes for a nice contrast, be it the buoyant songs like "Work to Do" and "Fairweather", or the more bittersweet stuff like "You'll Never Know" and "Take it So Hard". "Hallelujah" and "Getting Somewhere" are two of the standouts. Surprisingly, not much political bluster here aside from the title track (Moorer has become as much of an activist as her hubby), just 31 minutes of love songs and poignant character sketches. I liked her last album, but for all its good moments ("All Aboard" especially), it was overlong and sounded a bit too sterile. This one, though, is much more upbeat, but with an edge that I can't help but like.
And still another half-hour album: Discordia, by Baltimore death/grind band Misery Index. Reminds me a lot of The Red Chord's album from last year, in that it follows up a much-heralded debut, but decides to break the death metal monotony by tossing in a few more tempo changes and whatnot. Of course, you get the purists who prefer the first album (that's always the case in metal, the old stuff is ALWAYS better then the new stuff, like it's an unwritten rule), but I'm enjoying this new disc a lot more. Extremely tightly played, the drumming is absolutely incredible, and impressively, the lyrics actually have something relevant to say. A very tight, concise album that never overstays its welcome, one that comes to a truly thrilling climax on the closing trifecta of "Dystopian Nightmare", "Discordia", and "Pandemican". One of the better metal discs I've heard lately.
I want to get this for my youngest niece. Brilliant.
Friday, May 12, 2006
I knew it was coming, but my next two weeks of writing is going to be extremely time consuming, and hopefully not too stressful. It's like every three weeks I get a two-day breather, and then three more weeks of madness. And so much to write about here. I want to talk about the new albums by Voivod, The Pipettes, Futureheads, Run Chico Run, Rammstein, but there's NO DURN TIME.
Anyway, new review's up today, my rather, erm, dicey take on Lacuna Coil's Karmacode. I must have been in a good mood when I wrote it, because although I'm quick to point out the album's not without its slower moments, I still give it a "that's okay" pat on the back, along with a nice rating. The fact is, they're good at working the formula, and the good far outweighs the not-so-good. Co-singer Andrea Ferro has to go, though. Cristina's the star of this band, and his tone-deaf buffoonery is getting tiresome. Just watch the otherwise good performance of "Our Truth" from Kimmel Monday night, and you'll see what I mean. You're getting in the way, dude, so please shut up, and either pick up an instrument or quietly get off the stage.
Enough blathering. Back to the Motorhead!
With Brian Robertson out of the picture in 1984, it was time for the band to find yet another replacement, but on the day they were to start auditioning guitarists, Taylor announced he was leaving Motorhead to starta new band with bassist Chris Glenn, formerly of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band., leaving Lemmy the sole remaining member. The hardened warrior he is, though, he dusted himself off, and proceeded to overhaul the band’s lineup, coming up with not one, but two guitarists in ex-Persian Risk axeman Phil Campbell and madman Michael Burston, who went by the name Wurzel, not to mention a superb new drummer in Pete Gill, formerly of Saxon. As a bit of a tune-up, the newly-formed quartet recorded four new tracks for the upcoming No Remorse compilation, and proved to one and all they were back in business, big time, thanks in large part to the timeless “Killed By Death”, an instant 80s metal classic. Lemmy had a perfect combination of intensity and chops backing him up, the new material had won back the fans, and performing was fun again. Now all that was needed was a producer for the big comeback album. Not only would the new producer make for one of the more bizarre collaborations in metal history, but it would yield an absolute stunner of a record.
Prior to 1986, American Bill Laswell was best known for his avant garde project Material, having co-written and produced Herbie Hancock’s cutting-edge single “Rockit”, and worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Mick Jagger, and Public Image, Ltd. The fact that such an undeniably cool producer would work with a heavy metal band was unthinkable at the time (Rick Rubin would follow suit right around the same time, producing Slayer’s Reign in Blood), and the sound of 1986’s Orgasmatron would definitely raise a few eyebrows as well.
Not so much lacquered with a mid-80s metal sheen as built up to resemble the most massive modern metal juggernaut ever, Orgasmatron effectively blends spacious, booming production with the band’s trademark grit, and make no mistake about it, the sucker still sounds huge. Gill’s tom toms thunder away and his snare sounds downright metallic during the opening bars of “Deaf Forever”, as Lemmy’s authoritative bellows are punctuated by faux-industrial roars, as both guitars are pushed back slightly in the mix, eschewing finesse in favor of pure muscle, making for a very dense tone. The thrashing “Mean Machine” is propelled by an unrelenting tempo by Gill, underscored by Cambell’s subtle lead fills that offset the hyperkinetic energy, while “Built For Speed” (ironically a much slower tune) boasts a punchy, descending riff not unlike the LA metal of the time. The band saves their best for last, though, first with the insanely catchy rave-up “Doctor Rock”, and then with the most shocking revelation on the album, that being the monolithic title track. Constructed around a simple, repeated riff, Laswell takes the helm completely, steering the song right off the road and down into the bowels of Hell, ingeniously combining atmosphere and blunt power as Lemmy sermonizes in his greatest vocal performance to date: “Your bones will build my palaces, your eyes will stud my crown / For I am Mars, the god of war, and I will cut you down.”
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
As I mentioned a few days ago, I recently received the three new Motorhead reissues...I enjoyed the previous batch of reissues last time around, so it was cool to hear that Sanctuary was following up such classics as Ace of Spades and Overkill with a trio of the band's most underrated work. First up: the forgotten near-masterpiece Another Perfect Day...
Guitarist Brian Robertson was a very well-known musician in the UK in the late-70s, having played a key role on Thin Lizzy’s classic albums Jailbreak, Johnny the Fox, and Bad Reputation, helping create the band’s signature dual guitar harmonies with Scott Gorham. When he was asked by Lemmy to play on a brief tour after Fast Eddie Clark left in a huff in the wake of the 1982 Iron Horse tour, Robertson had never heard a Motorhead record before, but his own distinct, flashy style was just the kind of change the band was looking for. Regarded by many as a loose cannon at the time (he’d just been kicked out of Wild Horses, a band he formed himself), Robertson was eleven years Kilmister’s junior and intent on avoiding the straightforward, propulsive riffing of Clark in favor of much more nuanced, nimble performances, in turn forcing his bandmates to adapt, which makes the 1983 album Another Perfect Day such a unique piece of work.
This certainly ain’t your usual Motorhead album, which becomes apparent six seconds into the opening cut “Back at the Funny Farm”: Lemmy starts hammering away a distorted bassline as only Lemmy can do, but from out of nowhere, in comes Robertson with a note progression that’s more a melody than a riff. As the song launches into a trademark double-time pace, Robertson offsets his chugging chords with similar melodic flourishes, not to mention a pair of ripping solos that Clark could never pull off. Robertson contributes a strong blues rock feel on the boogie woogie inspired “Shine”, while “One Track Mind” has the band venturing into uncharted territory, that being the extended blooze jam. The title track is a great example of how Robertson’s textured style required Taylor to make an adjustment to his drumming; instead of going full speed ahead at all times, Taylor provides some of his best percussion work, punctuating the solos with smooth fills, and creating a more easygoing, swinging rhythm as opposed to his previous displays of brute force. Two songs stand out above all the others, as “Dancing on Your Grave” is highlighted by Robertson’s chiming intro and Lemmy’s startlingly melodic bassline, and “I Got Mine” contains some brilliant interplay between Robertson’s guitar work and Lemmy’s bilious vocals. Slickly produced by Tony Platt, it remains a personal favorite of Lemmy’s, as “Dancing on Your Grave” and “I Got Mine” were both dusted off on the band’s 30th anniversary tour in 2005 (which I got to see last April).
Of special note is the bonus CD, which is easily the best bonus disc among the seven re-released albums. A complete set recorded in Manchester in 1983, it’s an ultra-rare glimpse at the band’s Another Perfect Day incarnation, featuring a set that’s every bit as surreal in song choices as it is superbly performed. Robertson flatly refused to perform classic Motorhead tracks like “Ace of Spades”, “Overkill”, and “Bomber” (insisting ona bizarre cover of “Hoochie Coochie Man” instead), and what we get instead is a set consisting primarily of selections from Another Perfect Day and Iron Fist, featuring a searing performance by the band, especially Robertson, who adds enough muscle to his already versatile sound to make it Motorheadworthy, to both the new material and older chestnuts like “Heart of Stone” and “Iron Horse”. His take on the one classic tune, “The Chase is Better Than the Catch”, is one the fans will find especially fascinating.
However, Robertson’s involvement with Motorhead was very short-lived. The fans revolted, and the short-haired Robertson didn’t do himself any favors, not only with his refusal to play older material, but also his fashion sense, which involved such accoutrements as headbands, baggy pants, and leg warmers, which made for an uncomfortable contrast from Lemmy’s jeans, Iron Cross, and bullet belt. In the years following his 1984 firing, Another Perfect Day became a forgotten Motorhead record, but much like Black Sabbath’s 1983 album Born Again, has found an audience two decades later, so has this album, and this new reissue is an absolute must-own.
Up next: the mighty, misunderstood Orgasmatron...
Monday, May 8, 2006
My review of the great new Dresden Dolls album is up today. I still think as highly of it as I did three weeks ago...there are lots of people who consider the duo's cabaret gimmick unbearable, but I'm hearing such sincerity in the music, such compassion for Amanda Palmer's characters, that I have totally bought into it. I wasn't expecting it, either...I'm usually quick to pounce on any band who's more concerned about being precious and clever than actually creating good music, but there's none of that going on here. It's a stronger album than their debut, it has a terrific single in "Sing", and it's a rare bright spot in a year muddled with middling indie rock.
So far this year, out of all the new music I've heard, three albums in particular have stood out as the worst of the lot: AIDS Wolf, The Stills, and Elefant. Well, they'll just have to skooch their sorry selves over to make room for the latest addition, that being The Dividing Island, the new abomination by Lansing-Dreiden. I was a big fan of 2004's The Incomplete Triangle, enough to place it in my 2004 top 20, which skilfully combined hard rock, shoegazer/dreampop, and 80s synth pop, but this new CD is unbelievably bad, the demonic offspring of new age, muzak and the synth scores from John Hughes' movies. Completely lifeless, and presumptuous that it's more clever than it actually is. I don't even know where to begin...it just goes wrong from the opening seconds of the first song...it's not until the last track "Dethroning the Optimyth" that the band, er, sorry, collective starts to bring some energy to the music, as it goes into a good retro-metal gallop, but it's too little, too late, the damage irreparable. Not so much a crushing disappointment as merely a complete waste of listeners' valuable time. Best to simply forget this album didn't happen at all.
The new Muse single "Supermassive Black Hole" is arguably the weirdest thing the band has ever recorded, and after a few listens, it just might be what the band needed...
Motorhead! I have to mention the new Motorhead reissues. Next entry, I promise.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Okay, I'm bracing myself, awaiting the collective wrath of the insanely obsessive Tool fanbase...my review of 10,000 Days is up today. Despite having heard the album for about three weeks, it still felt hastily written, but I think it turned out okay. Although I'm seriously playing with fire...not only did I drag out a Led Zeppelin comparison, I broke a personal rule and mentioned Allen Ginsberg again...I'm such a longtime Beat Generation fan that Kerouac/Ginsberg/Burroughs quotes spring to mind all the time when writing, and I tend to use it as a crutch when I'm lacking ideas. That said, I do honestly believe that "Wings For Marie" and "10,000 Days" take a similar, brutally honest approach as Ginzy did on Kaddish, Maynard James Keenan beautifully eulogizing his late mother. I only wish the second half of the album was as strong as the first five tracks. That packaging, though...loads of fun.
I wish I had more time to write at length about the new Neil Young album, but I'll just say that I like it a lot, it has a Ragged Glory/Mirror Ball vibe that I find irresistible, with a nice, tight power trio setup. Dock it a point for the unbearable "America the Beautiful" (I detest American jingoistic songs), but other than that, his strongest since Greendale, of which I was a big fan. I'm worried that people will be making it out to be more provocative than it really is...Neil means well, but his lyrics are, for lack of a better word, graceless. Sure he wants to be pointed and angry, but instead of sounding blunt, the words sound lazy. Aaron Wherry put it best, saying, "Young's Living with War is, for the most part, a blog post put to music." In the end, if I were reviewing it for PopMatters (I'm not), I'd give it either a 6 or a 7. Probably 7.
I never really cared for Ritchie Blackmore's post-Deep Purple band Blackmore's Night, which goes far too over the top with the Renaissance Faire shtick, but I have the band's new CD sitting here, and I can't get past the cover of "Street of Dreams", by Ritchie's old band Rainbow. I was never big on the original, as Joe Lynn Turner is one of the blandest ard rock singers in history (save for "Stone Cold"), but on this new cover, singer (and Ritchie's young wife) Candice Night adds a lovely touch of emotion, while the band Celtic-ifies the tune about 30%. Not unlike Nightwish or Within Temptation, which, if you know me at all, I am a total sucker for. The album also has a cover of the Deep Purple classic "Child in Time", which I haven't heard yet...
Weird, that's two days in a row I've mentioned Deep Purple now. And I've had the Perfect Strangers album on the brain a lot lately, as well. Near classic album, that one (AMG doesn't know what they're talking about).
Lots to do, but if I can find the time, I have to mention the killer new Motorhead reissues I got yesterday...
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Buh-bye, Calgary Flames. Enjoy the summer while the talented teams battle it out for the next six weeks. Good riddance...what a victory for the new NHL. The most arch-conservative franchise, built around intimidation, was humiliated by a team loaded with speed and offensive skill. The right Alberta team advanced this week! Though I'm still predicting a Sharks-Devils final...
Hey! Do you like the metal? Do you like the metal of the thrashy variety? If that's the case, take a look at my review of their new album, and seek it out. An enormously fun CD, an old school geezer pleaser if I ever saw one.
I got a Kansas CD in the mail yesterday. I have no idea why. I only know three Kansas songs, two of which are on the accompanying DVD...symphonic versions. The rest of the collection culls live recordings of their 1992-2002 material, and we all know how well-known that stuff is. Oh, joy. Fret not, Kansas fans, I'm just being snarky. I'll crack the thing open and give it a fair listen. After all, the recent Deep Purple album turned out to be a knockout, so anything's possible, I suppose.
The Dresden Dolls' "The Jeep Song" just might be the greatest song of all time. Or at least the last few weeks. It's from their first album, but to paraphrase the wise sages at NBC, if I haven't heard it, it's new to me:
I've been driving around town
With my head spinning around
Everywhere I look I see
Your '96 Jeep Cherokee...
I try to see it in reverse
It makes the situation hundreds of times worse
When I wonder if it makes you want to cry
Every time you see a light blue Volvo driving by...
The number of them is insane
Every exit's an ex-boyfriend memory lane
Every major street's a minor heart attack
I see a red Jeep and I want to paint it black
It could be him or am I tripping
And I'm crashing into everything
I can't wait til you trade that damn thing in
By then they will have stuck me in the looney bin
It could be him my heart is pounding
Its just no use I'm surrounded
But someday I'll steal your car and switch the gears
And drive that Cherokee straight off this trail of tears...
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
End of the month madness, beginning of the month gladness, just like that. After such a busy week of writing like a maniac, how nice to kick off May with one of the Greatest Playoff Hockey Games I've Seen in the Last Ten Years. Good on you, Oilers, and keep it up!
The weekend was spent listening to nothing but Celtic Frost...expect a big piece on the band and how stupefyingly great Monotheist is in the coming weeks.
Back on Friday, my review of the new album by Vancouver indie popsters Young and Sexy went up. I haven't talked much about it, mainly because no publicist sent me the stupid CD, leaving me to review the leaked MP3s. Something I hate doing, but when pressed, I'll do it...especially with my wonderful little iRiver helping me out. Anyway, I'd been putting off writing about it because I was so busy with other commitments (if the publicist won't send me the album, I'll write about it when I'm good and ready), but it turns out it's a fine little record. A bit darker, a bit more complex, a bit more ('scuse the cliche) mature. If you liked their previous album, the slight new direction might come as a mild surprise, but once it settles in, it's impossible to dislike.
Last night I watched a documentary I've been aching to see since last September, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, a film seriously devoted to examining the most misunderstood musical genre in popular music. Conceived by longtime Canadian metalhead Sam Dunn, it's a neatly organized, straightforward piece of work that, in a rather Canadian way, methodically tackle various facets of metal music and its culture. Methodical, yes, but also necessary, as it's great to see him tackle the basics, ask the obvious questions, and get articulate answers from his interviewees...this kind of straight-faced documenting of metal was sorely needed, and despite the daunting task (it's ridiculously hard to create a definitive metal primer) Dunn does the job well. Tony Iommi and Geddy Lee are great at describing metal's early days, Rob Zombie, Ronnie James Dio, bruce Dickinson, and Alice Cooper are very perceptive (not to mention funny), Deena Weinstein and Bob Ezrin bring a more academic point of view, Chuck Klosterman adds a nice dose of Klostermania to the proceedings (when he quoted Kiss's "Crazy Nights", I nearly bust a gut), and it's great to see people like Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow and the boys from Lamb of God included (though Randy Blythe and Mark Morton had their name captions mixed up!). Corey and Joey from Slipknot also do well, but I wish they'd take those freakin' masks off when interviewed...we get the gimmick, boys, enough already. Describing the many metal subgenres will get confusing for those unfamiliar, but Dunn breaks it all down quite well. Most fascinating is his trip to Norway to learn more about the crazy black metal murders and church burnings in the early 90s...even he can't defend that sordid side of metal, and he's unflinching in is depictions of bands like Gorgoroth, allowing their insipid, but frightening words speak for themselves. He's also quick to point out the longtime anti-Christian sentiment in Norway, stressing such feelings are deeply rooted in the culture over there. It would have been cool to see a full length documentary on this subject (I remember hearing that there's a movie about it in the works).
One thing that stuck in my craw is the bit about the metal image and fashions. I know I'm in the great minority, but aside from the odd band t-shirt, I'm the least outwardly metal guy around, and Dunn and Weinstein seem to make it look like all metal fans dress that way and grow their hair long. Not all of us are like that! I guess with my clean-cut look, and the fact that I avoid mosh pits like the freakin' plague, I'm a non-conformist among a bunch of conforming non-conformists...if that makes any sense.
I do agree with what the film says about the power that good metal can have, how it can bring a crowd of 40,000 together like no other music, how it can transport you, how it can empower you. It can be exhilirating, whether it's hearing it through headphones, or in a live setting. A great example was when I saw Vader last November...there had to be about fifty people there, and although the music was far from cutting edge, the music was big, loud, and fun. When they covered "Raining Blood" at the end, for three minutes, it was the greatest thing ever. I felt the same thing hearing Opeth do "Demon of the Fall", Clutch play "The Mob Goes Wild", Judas Priest perform "Riding on the Wind", Motorhead do "Overkill" all in the past year. Like Dunn says, either you get it, or you don't. If you do, good for you. If you don't, hopefully this documentary will help you understand metal a bit more. It's out on DVD this month...I highly recommend it. Oh, and huge thanks to Cosmo for the hook-up!
Now to figure out how to go about reviewing the new Tool album...
